A Fairytale for You
by HerDEstiny
Summary: "Every story teaches a lesson, fairy tales teach the same lesson through princess and knights" A revisitation of 'The beauty and the beast' Delena style.
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** Even though my life is a mess at the moment I'm finally back but the upload is not the Steroline fanfiction somebody was waiting for. I have thousands of ideas for that story but everytime I open my laptop to write, my mind goes blank. It sucks so I've just decided to take a break and write something new and here I am with a Delena fanfiction. The plot is easy: a revisited version of The Beauty and the Beast, Delena style. At the beginning it should have been a one-shot but it turned longer than I had expected. I've really enjoyed writing this one and, unlike other ffs of mine, the main idea seems good but the judgements are up to you.

* * *

"Come on sweetheart go to bed before mom comes home and finds out that daddy has left you stay up until now" his voice was like a melody and in a second that little thing was under the cream sheets of her bed.

"But Maggie is not sleepy. Read me a fairytale, daddy" that sweet, deep blue eyes were looking at the same blue, wishing to get a 'yes' and a beautiful story before falling asleep. The answer took more than she expected but her handsome father couldn't possibly deny a fairytale to her princess.

"Okay ma'am what do you want me to read tonight? Cinderella? The little mermaid? Harry Potter?" a laugh came from his lips while Maggie rolled her eyes at her father's sarcasm.

"You've already told me all those stories more than a hundred times daddy, I want a new one" she was as beautiful as her mother, brunette and with a sweet smile that makes your body melt, their resemblance made him smile.

"Then I have the perfect one. Do you know _The Beauty and the Beast_?" Maggie nodded "well that's just a fairytale for children, which you are, but I'm going to tell you what really happened to the Beauty and the Beast" her eyes lit up in excitement and while her father sat down on the bed next to her, Maggie took her mother's teddy, hers by now, preparing herself for the story.

"This story is about a charming prince that had lost his soul and a young lady that had lost anything but the ability to love"

"So it's just a love story, daddy?"

"Not _just_, this is _the _love story" he smiled "Now close your eyes and listen to me"

* * *

Once upon a time there was a young prince, he was the most beautiful man of the kingdom: ocean blue eyes, a charming smile, the perfect body and all the women were in love with his beautiful face but no one ever felt in love with his heart because he didn't have one. He wasn't capable of loving, he had never loved a girl in his life, just their bodies and one night he paid the consequences of his love for beauty.

It was a stormy night, dark and scaring but the castle was lighted up by thousands candles and a joyful melody was coming from the ballroom where some minstrels were singing and dancing to celebrate the wedding of Prince Stefan and Princess Caroline.

Unlike the custom of those times Stefan and Caroline's marriage hadn't been decided by their parents, they felt in love when months before when Prince Stefan and his older brother had visited the nearby kingdom. Caroline's parents, King Bill and Queen Liz, were very happy once they got to know about the wedding but Prince Damon, Stefan's brother, wasn't at all. Let's just say that Caroline was definitely beautiful, light blue eyes and long blond hair, but her kingdom was poor and what was the point of a marriage if it doesn't bring more wealth? So Prince Damon tried everything to change his brother's mind but it didn't work and he just accepted his bother's desire to marry Caroline. He would have done anything for his brother and that's why at the wedding ceremony he just pretended a smile wishing all the best for the newlyweds.

Damon wasn't really a loving person but he tried to be asking a dance to his sister-in-law but before the prince was able to open his mouth a guard interrupted him saying that there was a mendicant at the front door that required his presence.

"Just send him away" Damon spoke in a law voice.

"Her" the guard corrected.

"Whatever, we have nothing to give her"

"But she does, she said something about a wedding gift for Prince Stefan" Damon's eyes went wide: how can a poor woman have a gift for a prince?

The curiosity took control of his body that slowly left the ballroom, leading himself to the front door where an old and ugly woman was standing still.

"Who are you, old lady?"

"My name is Katherine young boy and I have a special present for your majesty but in return I beg you to let me in. It's cold out here"

"And what is this special gift?"

The old lady showed a red rose to Prince Damon, it was the most beautiful flower he'd ever seen but it was far away from being a suitable gift for his brother.

"A rose? We have thousands of roses, what makes this one special?"

"It's magical, as long as you take care of it, the rose will give you the most precious gift of all: love" that last word echoed in Damon's mind before his lips left out a noisy laugh.

"Love? Love is just a fairytale you tell children to hide how real life is, that feeling you call love does not exist in my world. Now go away" but Katherine wasn't intentioned to move "go away!" Damon yelled at the old woman.

"I see, you really don't know what love is, your own little and dark world is deprived by the light of a warm heart, you've lost your soul. You don't feel, you're cold, just the touch of a body can warm your blood. You're not human, you're a beast" those words made Damon angrier and when he was about to close the door and go back to the party the ugly figure in front of him turned to a beautiful woman with long dark hair and red lips.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I've told you, my name is Katherine"

"_What _are you?" Damon was now yelling.

"People call me a witch but I consider myself just a helper of nature. Most importantly do you ever asked yourself what _you_ are?" Damon was confused.

"What kind of question is that? I'm a prince!" at his answer Katherine laughed in amusement.

"You wasn't even able to help a poor old lady, how can you be the great King your people need? You can't reign over human beings if you're a monster and, dear Prince Damon, this is your punishment: you'll be a real beast until you don't find a heart to love and that loves you back. But if you don't get your soul back before this rose dies you will be a beast, forever" with these words a beam of light surrounded Damon and suddenly his blue eyes became red, his body stronger, his feet faster, his heartbeats stopped and there was only one thing is his mind: blood.

Katherine turned Damon in a real monster, an abomination that the ancient legends used to call 'vampire'.

Damon looked at the woman wondering what was happening to him but the thirst took control of his mind and led him into the ballroom. Blinded by the need of blood Damon left out the monster he had been turned to and after a second the room was filled with the blood of the guests and Damon and Stefan's father was lying on the floor, lifeless.

"Damon what happened?" Stefan was shaking and so was Caroline, hidden behind his back. The guests who were still alive, were leaving the castle screaming in despair.

"Stefan you should go" when Damon raised up his face to talk, Stefan jumped at the sight of blood on his brother's lips. Everything had happened so fast that Stefan didn't have time to realize who was doing that but that realization scared him even more. Damon was now holding his father's body into his arms, the despair in his eyes. It was like he didn't know how that happened.

"I.. I can't leave you" Stefan was just like that, when he sees people in pain he helps them and this time was his brother so he had to do something even if he didn't know what. Damon, in that precise moment, was literally the only relative he had left. Their mother died 23 years before, giving birth to Stefan and, even if Damon was only 5, he promised to himself to always protect his little brother. Damon was trying to keep that promise.

"No, go. I don't know what's happening to me, I don't want to hurt you or Caroline. Please go!" the blue eyes were coming back and they were begging Stefan to leave and that was exactly what he and his wife did. They left Damon alone, crying on a dead body killed by his own teeth ad in that moment Damon thought that his soul was really lost forever because after all who will ever learn to love a beast?

* * *

"I'm sure somebody would, he seems so lonely. Nobody should be lonely" Maggie shacked his head.

"He stayed alone for years but one day he met somebody that changed his life forever. But you have to let me continue if you want to know how it happened"

"He's just been lucky" the little girl teased.

"This is not about being lucky, it's destiny"

"What's destiny dad?" that 4 years old ocean blue eyes didn't really get the meaning of that word, how could they? Barely adults know what destiny means and mostly all of them don't know what it really is. But fairytales do not just tell you a story, they help you to get what you're looking for, your own truth and Maggie was about to discover hers.

"Just listen.."

* * *

In a little village, not far away from the castle of the Salvatore, there was a young lady, considered by everyone the most gorgeous creature of the 13 kingdoms, a girl so beautiful to define beauty itself. Her name was Elena, daughter of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert, died less than a year before, after leaving their younger son, Jeremy, to the care of Elena. She wasn't just good-looking, her chocolate eyes were pure, her lips, that were hiding the pain of her loss, always had a bright and sweet smile for everybody, her heart was charitable but strong. Before her death, Miranda had taught everything she knew about the herbs of the woods and thanks to those lessons Elena was now able to heal people: her hands were considered magical. Elena wasn't just a beauty, she had the biggest heart of all.

But one day the medical herbs that were growing around the village seemed not strong enough to heal Jeremy from a fever tougher than the ones he used to catch. Jeremy has always been weak, he was always sick but somehow Elena's knowledge was adequate to heal him.

"I'm going out" Elena said, wearing a blue mantle and taking the basket next to the door.

"Go where?" Jeremy asked between a cough and the other

"In the forest to get some herbs" she smiled, trying to hid her concern.

"Elena do you see those grey clouds? It means that a storm is coming and the last thing you should do is going out there" Jeremy pointed at the window. The sky was grey, the rain would have started to fall soon but Elena needed those herbs, she didn't have a choice.

"Jeremy you need a medicine and I will be back before the storm breaks out" Elena was now next to Jeremy, her hand was holding his face.

"I can't lose you sister, you're the only family I've left" was Jeremy who talked but Elena was thinking the same: he was all she had.

"You won't. I'll be back but promise me that you'll stay inside until my return. You promise?"

"Promise"

"Good boy, now try to sleep" and giving Jeremy a soft kiss, Elena left the small house and she headed towards the deepest part of the forest.

Elena had just the time to go there and find the plants before the rain started to fall, everything became dark, she wasn't able to see what was right in front of her and, trying to get home, she lost herself in the woods. A some point Elena decided to find a place to shelter. She started running, being careful at the little basket that was carrying the herbs, and a couple of minutes after a flash lit a disquieting castle. It was surrounded by a river, the same that crossed her village, with high walls and a creepy atmosphere surrounding it. She didn't take long before recognize the enormous fort: it was of the royal family. The people of the village had different theories about why the Salvatore had left their royal place but the only certainty was that the castle was empty: the perfect place to protect herself from the rain, Elena thought.

Elena needed a couple of minutes to cross the bridge and reach the gate and the only thought in her head was 'please let it be unlocked'. She tried with all her straight to open the door but it was too heavy for her fragile body. Lost any hope, Elena leaned her back to that piece of wood that was preventing her to get in. She suddenly heard a creak behind her back and she found the front door slightly open. She didn't know how that happened but it did and without thinking twice about it, Elena slowly got herself inside the dark manor.

The foyer was dark and the only light that was illuminating her path was the one of the thunderbolts coming from the big, gothic windows. Elena was shaking, her clothes were wet and that place wasn't just cold but even unearthly. The shivers down her spine were not for the temperature, she was feeling something, like a presence and a whisper came out from her mouth.

"Is anyone here?" at the realization of what she had just said, Elena felt stupid. There wasn't a living soul between those walls, the Salvatore had left the castle years before, that place was empty and quiet. But the silence didn't last long, a feeble creaking coming for the stairs made Elena jump. She frenetically started to look around, repeating the same question that made her feel stupid the minute before but nothing happened, not an answer, not another noise.

"Elena stay calm, that was probably just an animal" she said to herself. That tiny body had no idea how close it was to the truth.

Even though she tried to calm herself down she couldn't help but feeling frightened of anything: the dark surrounding her, the storm outside, the idea that something could have showed up any second. And that was exactly what happened: out of the blue two red eyes flashed in front of her to disappear right after. Elena left out a scream, she was about to run out the door when a figure stood up in front of her trembling body. She didn't even have the time to breathe that two strong hands were already holding her and instinctively Elena closed her eyes, waiting for something bad to happen. But nothing occurred, she just felt the cold air touching her body, like she was moving, and then nothing.

Million thoughts rushed into her mind in a second, what had just happened or who was that person.

Elena's eyes were still closed, she was scared to open them up but she had to. What was right in front of her alarmed Elena even more: she wasn't in the foyer anymore, this room was smaller and enlightened by four candles. She turned around to see some steel bars that were dividing the location: it was an underground dungeon.

Brown eyes were searching for an escape when they stopped on a shadow, hiding in the dark, right next the only entrance of the room.

"Who are you?" she cried.

"Actually I should be the one who asks you that question, since you got in my house without any permission" his voice was deep, the kind of voice that scares you but inevitably attracts you.

"I.. I'm sorry I thought it was empty. I just wanted to protect myself from the storm" these words didn't come out easily from her moth, she was afraid of was going to happen. Why did he take here in a prison?

"You shouldn't have come here" his voice broke the silent, her heartbeats running loudly when the obscure figure slowly came out from the darkness. He was anything she had expected. A tall perfect body, dark hair, pale skin, blue eyes. He was frightening in his own beauty.

Elena couldn't take her gaze away from the creature in front of her, there was something in those sad blue eyes that didn't allow her to breathe.

"Then maybe I should go" Elena replied with a whisper.

"Here's the thing: once you get in you can't go out" he was talking with a seductive tone, her fingers stroking her cheek and then her neck. Elena didn't know if she was trembling in fear or in pleasure but she didn't have time to find an answer. The beautiful face standing over hers turned into her worst nightmare: the ocean of his eyes turned red, his lips were bended into an evil smile that was letting her see white teeth. Elena didn't have the time to scream because those teeth were already on her neck and her blood was rushing away from her body. Elena slowly lost consciousness and at some point she was floating in the darkness.

* * *

Of course this is just the beginning but you thoughts about this first part would be really appreciated.

I just hope, you've enjoyed reading as I've enjoyed writing.


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE:** Surprise, surprise I'm back! After two days I'm uploading a new chapter, I'm proud of myself. I didn't get a lot of reviews but there are a few people who were waiting for the second part so I tried my best to finish this one faster than I can (if there are some mistakes you will get over it, won't you?)

I'm glad that some of you like the main idea of this fanfiction, it means a lot.

If you didn't get it, this is going to be a long note because I need to tell you something about the story.

Yesterday when I was reviewing the first part I started to panicking because Maggie and her father have a conversation a bit too serious for a 4 years-old girl but I tried my best to make it fit with her age and, considering whose daughter is, everything didn't look so bad. And by the way, you won't know who are Maggie's parents until the last chapter.

This part is told by Elena's POV, that's why everything you'll learn about Damon is by his words and Elena's thoughts. This is also the reason why, at first, Damon is called with every possible name but with his own.

I have so much fun writing the scenes between Maggie and her father and the Delena interactions, so I hope you will have too.

Now I'm done to bother you, enjoy and review.

* * *

"She's not dead, is she?" Maggie couldn't believe what had just went out from her father's mouth. Elena was the main character, without her there wouldn't have been any story. But the concern in Maggie's eyes disappeared when her father shacked his head.

"Okay she's not dead but he _bite _her. I mean you talked about a love story daddy and I don't see it. Shouldn't they love each other already? Like in Cinderella" A smiled appeared on his lips.

"Mag, those are fairytales where people fall in love with each other like they have to, because the story need they to love each other. Do you understand this?" he questioned.

"Not really" she admitted with a sweet voice, she was a pretty smart 4 years-old girl but she was still 4.

"Real love is almost never at first sight, you don't suddenly fall in love with a person. You begin to know the person, his or her flaws, to love them. Trust, friendship and passion are essential" Maggie's eyes were chained to his father's, still confused about the lesson he was teaching her. "Love is not a sudden revelation, it's a long last journey" Her father took a deep breath and smiled. "It's not something easy to understand, you're still young for this but I promised you a story and this is what you get. I'm not telling you a fairytale about an epic relationship that doesn't exist in real life, I'm telling you much more"

"And what is it?"

"Love"

* * *

The light of the candles was beginning to fade when Elena opened her eyes. She was touching her sore head, visibly confused about what was surrounding her. She was still in the prison, this time behind the bars but this wasn't the reason why she was shocked: she didn't believe that she was still breathing.

'Maybe it was just a nightmare' she thought but when her fingers reached her neck, the feeling of the dry blood under her touch made her understand that it was the reality.

Her body froze at the memory of a pair of red eyes looking right into her soul, like they were searching for her deepest fears. When Elena shacked her head trying to send away all the bad thoughts, her noise was attracted to a familiar scent, the one of sage mixed to the smells of the forest. And when her eyes came to rest on the little basket and the herbs scattered on the floor, the thing that scared her the most became real.

She suddenly got up, her hands were holding the cold bars, stupidly trying to shake them in order to break free.

"Whoever you are please let me out" she shouted at the cold air, hoping to get an answer that never came. "My brother needs me. He will die if I don't come home. Please" there was despair in her voice. Her body became weak at the idea that Jeremy could have died. She fell back down to the ground, still holding the bars and her forehead leaning on the cold metal. The sobs were almost preventing her from breathing when the beast appeared in front of her, actually stopping her breath.

"You're being too noisy" he pointed out but Elena didn't catch those words, her mind was focused on Jeremy.

"Please, you have to let me go. My brother needs me" she cried. The blue-eyed man was looking at her with curiosity.

"I don't care what do you want from me, but please let me help my brother. He's all I've left" Elena was now standing up, begging a heartless beast.

"What does he need?" Elena was shocked, was he really going to help her?

"He has a bad fever, he needs attentions and those herbs" her shaking finger pointed at the basket.

"I can't let you go" Elena's body didn't stop trembling for a moment but the certainty that she would never be able to get out of there made her shake more. The sight of a lifeless Jeremy stopped her heartbeats "But I'll send my servant to your brother. He will take care of him"

Elena's mind was now a hurricane of thoughts: why did he decide to help her? Why didn't he want to let her go? But none of them got an answer and her brain was just able to put a few words one after another.

"Common people can't just make a medicine, they have to actually know the principles of the herbs" Elena was basically implying that that servant wasn't able to heal Jeremy.

"Alaric knows more about medicine than you think. He's a wise man" this answer Elena feel a bit better. Just a bit.

"But when my brother will see a stranger taking care of him instead of his own sister, what is this Alaric going to tell him?"

"He also has a vivid imagination, let him use it" now that her muscles have relaxed, that sarcastic comment made Elena feel irritation for the figure in front of her.

He glanced at her before turning his back to leave and in that moment Elena knew that Jeremy would have received the cares he needed. She was trusting him, something in the ocean of his eyes was telling her that she could trust him.

"Wait" she said suddenly and he stopped in front of the door, turning his glance at the fragile body "Thank you"

The blue eyes went wide and Elena could see a swirl of emotions going through his mind. He didn't seem to be used to many thanks and when her keeper finally went out, she couldn't help but letting out a soft smile.

The relaxed expression of her look didn't take long before disappearing, she was still in a prison and only God knew what was going to happen next. But Elena was way too tired to deal with those thoughts in that moment. And when she laid on the floor the fatigue brought her in a deep sleep, where her parents were still alive and Jeremy was the healthier boy on the earth.

* * *

"You know daddy, this story is a bit weird" Maggie had an hilarious expression on her face and her father couldn't keep his laugh inside.

"Well, if you get over the fact that Damon is a vampire this story is not so unusual" Maggie rolled her eyes.

"I mean, Damon imprisoned Elena and then he wants to help her? It doesn't make sense!" from her emphatic tone of voice seemed like she was really into that fairytale.

"I'm almost there but you should stop to interrupt my story telling" Maggie immediately shut up and the harmonious voice started again.

* * *

A feeble light hit Elena's eyelids, still closed in a profound slumber. She slowly opened them up and her eyes looked around, hoping to find a different place. The light of the sun confused Elena, she didn't see neither a window or a little slot when she first got there. Her hope crushed when she found out that there really was a tiny opening, probably not seen because it was dark. Now the sun was shining, she could hear a bird singing while the peace was surrounding her: the calm after the storm.

The rumble of her stomach broke the silence, it had not eaten anything for hours. She was starving.

"You should eat something" Elena's eyes moved immediately on the figure, well-known by now, who was leaning against the wall with crossed arms. His finger pointed to a small serving dish full of fruits, a piece of bread and a glass of water.

Elena could see the smirk on his lips clearly, he was laughing of her. When he was about to leave, she stopped him again, it was becoming an habit.

"Don't go" and his body blocked automatically. She needed answers that only him could provide her. Two blue eyes were waiting for a question that didn't take long to come from Elena's mouth.

"Why are you keeping me here?"

"You saw something you should have not" Elena passed her fingers on her neck, right where the bite was, then she looked at its responsible and the expression of his face made her understand that they were thinking alike.

Elena was frightened of the thought that had run into her mind in that moment, but she spoke it out loud anyway.

"Why didn't you kill me?" her voice was a whisper but he heard it because his eyebrow raised in amusement. Maybe it was because she had the guts to actually said that.

"I wanted to" his voice was firm like he was talking about killing a fly. Other hand Elena's body stiffen and her heartbeats started to run frenetically. Her silent question was answered after a second. "Your blood. There was something in it, something I've never tasted. My body rejected your blood, it was.. disgusting" a noisy laugh came out from Elena's mouth. He was talking seriously, she could see it from his expression but the situation was definitely funny. She was still alive because her blood was _disgusting_.

"I'm glad you're having fun even in your situation" the absolutely not-funny joke brought her back to the point.

"What are you going to do with me?" again Elena was scared of the answer and her thought went immediately to Jeremy.

"I will figure it out" his big hand was stroking her cheek. Was he trying to seduce her and then kill her? Probably, she thought. Even though Elena was far away from being seduced by a stranger, a monster that had human resemblances, she couldn't take her eyes away from him.

He was definitely scaring, even if his eyes weren't red anymore and he looked like a normal person. But she couldn't deny that, at the light of the sun, he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

Ocean blue eyes were eating her up, soft fingers were burning every single limb of skin they were touching. She was feeling a terrifying pleasure.

* * *

"Dad?" Maggie brought his father's back on earth. "What are you saying?" He laughed, realizing what he just said to his 4 years old daughter.

"Maybe this is not the right story for you"

"No! Once you start, you can't stop"

"What you say is law, my princess" her father teased "Let's just make this fairytale for children a little less hot" Maggie had a I-didn't-get-a-single-word expression on her cute face "Anyway, what was I saying?"

* * *

Elena throw herself away from the big hand that was still holding her face.

"What are you?" she regretted those words instantly but what was done, was done.

"I've asked that myself years ago and it didn't end well" he had a sad smile on his lips and Elena felt guilty for that question. He had drunk her blood, he was keeping her in prison, he would probably kill her but she felt guilty. Elena really had the biggest heart of all.

"Well, it won't end well anyway"

"Trust me, you don't want to know"

"Actually I do" he was visibly impressed of those chocolate eyes that were able to support his gaze.

"I'm a vampire" he wanted to scare her and he did. Elena was terrified but her attitude said otherwise.

"And do you have a name or vampires don't have one?" she had just teased a monster considered the most dangerous predator of the night by the ancient legends. Asking his name didn't seem so wrong since she was already going through a living hell because of her parent's death.

They had taught her to be kind in life and to be strong and afraid of nothing when they passed out. She was definitely strong but Jeremy was her weakness, she was afraid of anything that could have hurt her brother.

In that moment Elena would have face anything, even a vampire to protect her only family.

"I was human" his voice brought her back from her thoughts but he shacked his head, like he wanted to forget and started a new conversation.

"You know your good manners are really bad. If you want to know somebody's name you have to tell them yours first"

"I'm Elena"

"So, Elena how exactly a beautiful lady like you got in this situation?"

"Thought it was quite clear by now. I got lost in the forest when the storm broke out, your castle seemed the only place to protect myself from the rain. It turned out not to be such a safe place"

"Definitely not safe"

"What about you? How did an evil vampire like you decide to help a defenseless girl?" The sarcasm of the question was just a shield, she was really interested in the reason.

"I know how it feels to have the weight of your brother's safety on your shoulders" there was pain in his eyes, the kind of pain that never leaves you. Not even for a moment.

"Do you have a brother?" Elena's voice was soft, like it was trying to take his sufferance away.

"A long time ago" The unnamed man's eyes were observing the sunlight, there was loneliness in his look but she couldn't do anything even if she wanted to.

"Did you really keep your promise?" he was now looking at her, confused. "To help my brother" Elena knew that he never mentioned any promise but theirs was a silent deal.

"Alaric left right after you fell asleep. Don't you see that all you precious plants are not here anymore?" Actually she didn't, she was too focused on him and his every move.

"How's Jeremy?" she asked.

"When Alaric comes back, I'll tell you"

"How can you know that your servant had found my brother, I mean.." Elena was now trembling at the idea and she wasn't able to finish the sentence.

"Through this" the vampire took a silver medal out from his pocket.

"My necklace" Elena said, touching her neck instinctively.

"The village of Mystic Falls is the only place of the kingdom where objects like this are made" and he was right. Mystic Falls was a respectable village, wealthier than many other thanks to the processing of silver to create jewels, managed by the Mikaelson.

Elena was about to speak when he interrupted her "when he comes back, I will lead him to you so you will ask everything you want to know about Jeremy" Elena was surprised, that was exactly what she wanted. He was still a stranger for her but he was able to read her thoughts already.

"You should eat something"

"What? Do you need me to put on some weight before eat me?" Elena asked. She expected a scaring 'yes' but he just kept laughing.

"Elena, not to be rude or anything but if your blood has such a taste I don't really want to know how your body's flavor is like"

Elena's eyes were following his body, slowly leading to the door and when it stopped so did they. And the brown of her pupils met his blue before they left the room.

"It's Damon, by the way"

"Damon" she whispered.

A couple of hours passed, maybe more. Elena had lost the perception of the time, after her meal she laid on the floor, looking at the ceiling and thinking about Jeremy and her parents. They were a constant thought in her mind but that day Grayson and Miranda left some space for the blue-eyed vampire. She was truly interested in his past, she wanted to know who he really was under that scary look of his.

Elena was well aware that dealing with a vampire wasn't something common girls like her usually do. He was dangerous, unpredictable but she wanted to know him, more than anything she wanted to know Damon.

"Why every time I enter the room you're sleepingP" Damon's voice was already a familiar melody.

"I'm not sleeping, I'm thinking" she said, getting up "and even if I was,what's the problem? There is nothing better to do here anyway"

"True. But not for long" Elena's question displayed on her forehead and she didn't even need to say it out laud. "I have a plan for you and it doesn't involve you being here" Damon took a key from his pocket and left her out from the prison.

Without saying a word he grabbed her arm and led Elena onto a dark corridor. Once there he let her go and his hand slowly moved to reach hers. The unexpected touch made her gasp but her fingers got used to his cold skin after a second.

There was just a few candles to light up the long passage and Elena was glad to have Damon's hand to hold. She never loved the darkness and in that castle everything was gloomy and scaring, even Damon but his blue eyes seemed the safest place she could have found there. She couldn't think the same for the red ones, though.

When they finally came out from the underground, that place didn't seem so bad to Elena. The foyer that scared her the day before was now bright and she could see each detail perfectly.

"It's beautiful" she said, her eyes looking around frenetically. Elena didn't get any kind of response and when her pupils laid on the dust, placed basically everywhere she couldn't keep her thoughts inside.

"You're not really a housewife, are you?" Elena smiled at her own joke.

"I'm too busy killing innocent ladies instead of caring about some dust" yesterday a shiver would run down her spine but today she just rolled her eyes. Elena knew that he wouldn't hurt her, not that day. She wasn't really sure about the next.

"Well maybe you should stop killing people and do some cleaning" her eyes went wide, she couldn't believe to have actually said that but when a smirk appeared on Damon's face she relaxed.

"That's on you from now on" he was observing her every change of expression with interest. "I've agreed to help your brother and you will do anything I ask you to" his gaze didn't let her for a moment. Again she didn't know if he was trying to scare her or seduce her, anyway everything Damon was trying to do worked perfectly.

"So you've just promoted me from prisoner to servant"

Damon nodded his head: she was still in cage but at least she had a bit more freedom.

"Are you not afraid that one day I will find a way to run away from here?" she was clearly teasing, there wasn't a way out. Well actually there was but he wouldn't let her use it anyway.

"I will find you" he smirked at her "I will always find you"

She should have been scared, afraid that she will always be her prisoner as the best option but she was not. After a year passed to take care of her brother, without anyone taking care of _her_, the idea that Damon would always be with her made Elena feel safe. In some twisted way, she was feeling safe with a red-eyed beast.

* * *

PS: I hope you liked this part because I'm not sure when you'll get the others. My life is a mess right now, I have to study and work, plus my WiFi has some problem so I really don't know when I will be able to upload but I'll try my best. And maybe you'll get a double upload instead of on :P

Review because I'd love to know your thoughts.


	3. Chapter 3

Note: here we are again with another chapter. I'm aware that this story is far away from being the best you've ever read but I'm happy that some of you actually like it so thank you. Anyway this chapter was a hell to write, I stayed hours motionless looking at a white page without knowing what to do. The first part was really, really hard to write but then one of my friend told me that she was waiting for an uploading and I started to write. Everyhing came easly and I'm happy how it turned out.

I just want to dedicate this chapter to this amazing person because she's the biggest fan of this fanfiction and the one who actually gives me the motivation to keep writing. I love you Gaby, thanks for your constant support.

* * *

A suddenly morning light hit Damon's eyelids, waking him up from the nightmares that used to hunt his every sleep. He needed a few second to adapt his eyes to the brightness coming from the open window. He didn't remember to have left it open, though. And when he was about to get up, his pupils led on a small figure that was standing right next to his bed.

"Good morning" Elena said, her lips bended in a soft smile. She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen and that wasn't the first time this thought crossed his mind: when he had brought Elena to the underground prison, his eyes had observed every part of her body in the soft glow of the candles more than once. But nothing compared to her figure in the morning light. Her chocolate eyes looked brighter, her hair smoother, lips softer and more seductive. She was definitely a beauty.

"What are you doing?" Damon asked with an inquisitor voice, frowning his eyebrows.

"Waking you up, isn't it obvious?" she was clearly teasing him and Damon didn't know how to feel about it. Actually he didn't know how to feel about her, period.

He was able to see fear in her eyes but her attitude, her words said otherwise. It was like she was afraid of his personality rather than his nature, like she wasn't scared of the beast but of Damon.

Elena was definitely strong, or at least strong enough to stand his gaze and his words. The thought left a smirk appear on his lips.

"No, it's not. You should have brought me breakfast to make it obvious" he answered as Elena left his bed to stand up. Her hands on the hips.

"I am the breakfast, Damon" she paused with a grin on her face. Damon was amused, common girls wouldn't have the guts to say that. But she wasn't common.

"Then you're lucky that I don't like your blood" it was Damon's turn to tease her. Elena shacked her head and headed towards the door.

"Get dressed and join me in the living room" she said, turning her gaze at him. Damon's surprise displayed on his face because Elena cleared her previous sentence before he could open his mouth to talk. "I'm cleaning your castle, Damon and I would be glad to have a conversation with you in the meanwhile. I don't really like to be alone" He nodded as a response but that explanation confused Damon even more. The castle did need a cleaning and he wasn't going to complain about it but why did Elena want to talk to him?

She looked so interested in knowing him but this was clearly of out question. People are not interested in knowing a monster and he definitely wasn't in knowing her. He couldn't let himself to care.

"Elena" her body stopped in front of the door "next time bring me breakfast. Vampires can eat anything as long as they take enough blood" he expected Elena to stiffen at the sound of the word 'vampire' but she surprised him once again.

"I will" she murmured with her sweetest smile, getting out of Damon's room.

The blue-eyed vampire laid down on the bed for a few more minutes, thinking about Elena and how he got into that situation. That wasn't the plan. He wanted to kill her, drinking all the blood in her system but then he felt a strong pain in his throat, like it was burning. It had never happened before and Damon wanted to figure out what made that girl so special, what made her blood undrinkable for him. That was the reason why he had locked her in the prison even though he knew that he would have kill her eventually. Now he wasn't so sure about it anymore.

He had decided to help her brother just because he reminded him of his own, he didn't care about Elena or her family issues but the thought of Stefan pushed Damon to do something. However that wasn't the reason why Elena was still alive and free to go around in his castle. It was because she thanked him, and Damon Salvatore wasn't used to any kind of thanks. She surprised him, she was able to let a vampire speechless. In that exact moment Damon had realized there was something more special about that girl than just her blood.

* * *

"Damon is falling in love with Elena" Maggie pointed out, it wasn't a question but her father agreed anyway, nodding his head.

"He's definitely feeling something for Elena but Damon Salvatore is not used to these kind of feelings, he doesn't know how to deal with them. Actually he didn't even acknowledge them yet" Once again Maggie was confused about her father's answer.

"Don't you remember? Damon has not a heart"

"That's not true, dad. Everybody has a hart but sometimes they just decide not to use it, especially after they get hurt. Probably that happened to Damon too" her father's eyes went wide, Maggie was right. Damon wasn't heartless, he did have a heart but he had stopped to care and to feel after his world turned dark and loveless. But that was a story that needed to be told later on so the blue-eyed man went for a different reply.

"How can you be so smart?" Maggie giggled at the compliment.

"I'm your daughter" a big grin appeared on her face as her father stroked her cheeks with a gentle touch.

"Yeah you're definitely my princess. And speaking about princesses I have a fairytale to finish"

* * *

With long steps Damon crossed the long corridor that was leading to the stairs but before reach them he stopped in front of the room he had gave to Elena the night before. He got in and he started to touch anything that was in that place: the cream curtains, the pearl-white sheets, the wooden wardrobe and the painful memories began to come back. That was the room where his mother had given birth to Stefan and spent the last days of her life.

That room had been closed for years but somehow he felt that was the perfect one for Elena because she reminds him of her. His mother and Elena were physically different: the Queen had long blond hair, deep blue eyes and the kindest smile. That was her only physical resemblance with Elena but her kindness, her strong attitude, her unbelievable will to love anyone, even a monster, made the two women alike.

There was a little paint of his mother on the wall, a little ruined because of the time but her eyes where still shining in the morning light. He remembered the last word she said to him, her last lesson before dying and leaving his word loveless.

_Damon, I won't be here to teach any life-lesson anymore but I want you to remember this. Doesn't matter how hard it will be or how painful it could be, never stop loving. Humans can be evil, they can hurt you but don't let this keep you from giving love. We are humans, we're made to love and to be loved. _

"I've tried, mother but it didn't work" he said to the paint with teary eyes "And it doesn't matter anymore because I'm not human and I miss it. I miss it more than anything in the world" the pain in his voice echoed in the room and his frustration showed when Damon's fist reached the wall, breaking a couple of stones.

He needed a couple of minutes to calm down from the feelings he wasn't prepared to handle. He had spent his life burying those feelings; the pain, the anger, the constant loneliness. He had never tried to deal with them, to handle them he just decided to bury his heart, pretending it didn't exist but sometimes it went back along with what hidden in it.

When his breath came back to its normal rhythm, Damon went in the living room where Elena was waiting for him.

She was on her feet's toes, standing up on a chair and trying to clean a window. She was too short to reach it but she didn't look like a give-up girl on the other hand she was definitely clumsy because she lost her balance when Damon got in the room. Elena was about to fall on the floor when he grabbed her fallen body just in time.

Their eyes were looking at each other, Elena's lips bended in her usual smile.

"You saved me, thank you" she thanked him again and his eyes went wide for the surprise but he tried to stay cool and let her know that it was nothing. Like he didn't want to let her think that she or her life actually meant something for him.

"You don't have to thank him, saving people is in my nature. I'm a Salvatore, you know" he gave her a sarcastic smile. Elena was visibly confused and Damon thought it was because she didn't get the allusion.

"Salvatore as in savior" he whispered into her hear as he left her body standing on its own feet. Her expression was still confused but he could see her lips curl into a smile "You're not a savior" Elena said and she was right but her answer hit him anyway. He didn't know Elena, how she was or anything about her but after a couple of days he did have understand something: she finds the good in anything or anyone but considering him a savior would have been too much even for her. He wasn't a savior, he was a killer, a beast, everything but a hero.

"You don't save people, you save me. Looks like you're my own savior" her chocolate eyes were chained to his, probably waiting for a reaction that took a lot before coming. He didn't expect that. He'd feed on her, taken her in a prison but he was her savior. How?

She didn't just have an undying trust in the kindness of mankind, she was just in denial.. or stupid. Probably both. But he couldn't keep his smile, a genuine smile that had never crossed his lips after his mother's death.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you" the smile left place to a smirk and Elena rolled her eyes. When the little body moved to the big wooden table to clean it, his blue eyes followed her single move.

"What do you want to talk about, Elena?" she turned her back to look at him and before she could open her mouth, he spoke first.

"And please don't say Jeremy"

"Actually I was about to say _you_" he couldn't move, his eyes were wide opened, his throat dry.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're the Prince?" his eyes went wide both because she looked angry and because he was surprised she didn't get it already.

"I've told you my name, I thought you would have figured out the rest by yourself" he rolled his eyes and she got mad, or at least it looked like it.

"How? You've just told me your name, not that you're a Salvatore. Plus King Stefan announced that you were killed with your father the night of the massacre. I thought that Damon Salvatore was dead" She silenced.

The night of the massacre. He had never talked about that night with anyone, he didn't want to remember but ironically it was the night he remember better.

"He is dead" his blue eyes were on Elena's body and there wasn't a single emotion in them, like he was really dead inside. And that wasn't so wrong: his blood stopped to pump blood in his veins years before, his heart didn't beat anymore, his body couldn't warm up, he was cold and lifeless.

When his pupils move back to Elena, he saw her waiting for an answer that included more details.

"The beast that got into the castle and killed all those people, including my father, was me. After that day Stefan and his wife left this place, he told our people that an animal was the responsible. Saying that his brother was dead was probably a smart choice because I'm not his brother anymore" again that empty look. He wasn't watching Elena but he could hear her heart beating faster, her lung weren't taking any breath but then she opened her moth to talk.

"Did you stay here all this time? Alone?" Damon nodded.

"I should have gone away but an antique castle is the best place for a vampire" a bitterly laugh came out from his teeth.

When Damon raised his head to look at the sunlight coming from the window and then his hears caught Elena gasping.

"Long time ago my mother told me a story about a vampire" she paused to take a breath "According to the antique legends vampire are creature of the night, strong, fast, with incredible abilities like hearing and healing" she paused again this time to see Damon nodding at her.

"Then how can you stay in the sun?"

"I couldn't. For years I've lived in the shadows but one that I've found a ring" he raised the hand to look at it. "Somehow when I touch this ring or wear it, the sunlight doesn't burn my skin" he looked at the ground remembering the truth. Because that wasn't the true story.

He hadn't just found it, it was a gift from Katherine. After two years spent in the darkness, one day a ring appeared right next the cursed rose and under the jewel there was a message.

_Since you haven't found a heart to love yet and your time is running out I thought you needed a ring to walk in the sun. The eternity is very long, you shouldn't spend it in the dark._

His hand closed into a fist due to the angry he was feeling. It was just a letter but he had been able to feel the sarcasm in Katherine's voice. That wasn't a gift, it was a curse. All of it was a curse that would last forever.

"Damon? I'm sorry. I didn't.." He turned around to meet the small figure standing right next to him. His eyes were full of all the worst feelings he had felt for years and they scared her. He could see the terror growing in her but her hand decided to cross the distance between them anyway to touch his shoulder. He moved before feeling her soft skin on his, he didn't want her to feel sorry for him because he didn't deserve that.

She should hate him, not feel compassion.

"Why you're sorry, Elena?" he demanded with an angry but low voice. Her eyes went wide and she started to shake, probably because of his tone. Elena didn't answer at first, she was just looking at him but when Damon repeated his question with more ardor she gasped, cleared her throat and talked.

"I've probably made you remember things you didn't want to. I.." she stopped to talk as Damon came closer.

"How can you care about my feelings?" he was now yelling, his eyes were still blue but there was a fire growing inside of them "I'm a monster, Elena. I kill people" he was breathing frenetically, waiting for a response.

"You have to if you want to stay alive" Damon couldn't believe what just went out from those lips. And probably neither did Elena because she tried to clear that right after.

"I mean.. You don't want to be a vampire, you never wanted to be one" the surprise in his eyes left place to the anger once again. She was acting like she knew him, his weakness, his thoughts and he didn't like it.

"And how do you know?" he asked with a sarcastic voice.

"I'm not blind, Damon. I see the pain in your eyes when you talk about your brother and your father, the hate in your voice when you talk about yourself. Maybe your heart doesn't beat anymore but it's still able to feel" her body wasn't trembling anymore, her voice was firm, her eyes were looking into the blue of his, not intentioned to move away.

In that moment the face of Elena turned into the one he hated the most: same long dark hair, deep brown eyes. He hadn't notice the resemblance to Katherine until now. They were so alike but they were both wrong about his heart.

It wasn't able to feel, it never was, not after his mother's death.

The pain, the anger of those memories made his lost the control of himself. He grabbed Elena's arm with strength, he could hear her pain growing but he didn't care.

"You cannot know that. You don't know anything, you don't know me" all the feelings that were consuming his soul displayed in his eyes.

* * *

"Stoooop!" the loud voice of Maggie made her father jump. He didn't notice but she was about to cry so he patted her head asking what was wrong in a sweet voice.

"He hates her. Damon hates Elena, dad. You promised me a love story not this" his father smiled at her without taking back his hand.

"I've promised you _the_ love story if I don't remember wrong. You just need to be patience, the love you're waiting for is coming" Maggie rolled her teary eyes.

"I know that love is a journey but you I didn't know it was such a hard one" he dried her daughter's tears away gently.

"It is hard. But you can't just push away the bad things and take the good ones, you have to take both. And then you'll realize that the waiting, the pain, the tears are worth it" Maggie wasn't really sure about that but she wanted to trust his father and she nodded.

"So do you still want me to tell this fairytale or should I stop?" he smirked at Maggie.

"Keep telling but can you make Damon a little less scaring?" he smiled as she spoke with that low voice.

"Okay then.. what was I saying?"

* * *

"You cannot know that. You don't know anything, you don't know me"

"This is what I'm trying to do, Damon" now she was yelling too, her eyes still on Damon's.

"I want to know who Damon Salvatore is but you're not letting me" at this words Damon relaxed, his hand was slowly letting go of Elena's arm. But his eyes never left her, he wasn't sure if they were looking at her or at himself through the reflex in her eyes.

"Damon" the voice was coming from the open door. Elena moved her eyes to see a figure behind Damon's back but he didn't need to turn around to see who was it, he knew that voice pretty well.

"Alaric, welcome back"


	4. Chapter 4

Is this an update? Yes it is. After months I'm updating this fanfiction.

I'm sorry for the wait but my life is a gigant mess at the moment. I've started university one month ago and I don't really have time to write but I promise you I'll try my best to finish this story as soon as I can.

Now try to enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think ;)

* * *

Her eyes lifted between Damon and the stranger that was crossing the leaving room to approach them. While her pupils were watching every move of the two men, her body could still feel the presence of Damon's fingers on her arm and her mind couldn't stop questioning why he got mad, what _she_ did to upset him.

The answer flow in her mind right after. She had told him that he was basically a liar, pretending he was a heartless monster when she had been able to see some emotions in his blue eyes. But that wasn't probably the reason why he acted the way he did. The problem was that she had actually seen something in his eyes, that she knew that his heart was somewhere but he didn't want to show it.

Elena didn't know Damon, she made that clear a few minutes before but even after a brief time with him she did understand one thing. Damon was confident, sarcastic, always ready to fire back but all of that was a shield to protect his true self, to protect his weaknesses. That was the problem: he couldn't allow somebody to know his weaknesses because that would mean trusting them and Damon didn't trust anyone.

"You never change, do you? You've always been a bit too rough but I must say that your way of treating a lady had even gotten worse" the person that was supposed to be Alaric was now next to Damon, looking at him with a mocking smile.

The vampire sighted and turned his eyes at his friend to give him back the same smile.

"I was planning to kill her not to seduce her" Elena gasped at the words, they were filled with sarcasm but that didn't make them less scaring. Other hand Alaric found them pretty hilarious because his smile turned into pure amusement.

"Considering your wonderful ability of killing people I don't really think you need a plan to kill people, you just do it" his voice stopped and his eyes settled on Elena. "But you are still breathing so what is it that makes so special?"

She couldn't answer because she didn't know what to answer. The reason why she was still alive was a mystery for her as much as it was for Alaric. Damon once said that he wanted to kill her but he couldn't drink her blood and it looked like a good explanation at first but then she realized that wasn't the only way he could have killed her. She was sure he had plenty of ways to get rid of her, and most of them were probably quite painful.

Her only hope was to get an answer from Damon but the only thing he did was rolling his eyes.

"Do I have to assume from your attitude that I won't get a formal introduction to this lady?" again Damon didn't speak but kept looking at his friend. Yes, he wouldn't get a formal introduction so he decided to do it himself. "I'm Alaric. I know that my friendships are not in my favor but I can insure you that I'm a sir and even a friendly one" he took her hand and pressed a soft kiss and when he let it go he had a gently smile on his lips.

Elena smiled back, telling her name but the next words that came out from her mouth weren't adequate to start a polite conversation with a stranger. Anyway since she was locked in a castle with a vampire and his friend, being polite wasn't a priority for her.

"How's Jeremy? You're the one who helped him, right?" her voice was trembling because of the concern for his little brother. In the past days she tried to hide it but she never stopped thinking about him, if he was fine, if he was _alive_. She wanted to take care of Jeremy, being next to him when he would get better and, for how scaring the thought was, being there if things would get worst. But Elena was aware that she would never see him again and that was all because of Damon, that castle was her home now.

For how hard she was trying to have a civil relationship with a man that had kidnapped her and was planning to kill her, she couldn't help but hating him and Jeremy was the principal reason.

"I think the two of you have a lot to talk about so I'm just going to have a drink" Damon's voice was finally back and was directed to Alaric. When his friend nodded, he turned his back to look into her eyes. He tried to show her a smile and, even if the result wasn't good, she appreciated the effort but she couldn't smile either.

Before leaving, Damon moved his hand closer to her face and took away a tear that was streaming down her check. Too focused on the thought of Jeremy, she didn't even realize that her eyes were about to let out her pain.

While her check was still burning for the contact with his finger, his lips moved near her ear to talk and her breath stopped.

"He's all yours" he whispered with an amused smile displayed on his mouth and then he left the living room.

When they were finally alone, Alaric moved next to the big table, his hands on the back of a chair. "Take a sit, Elena" his voice was firm and that made Elena freaking out. Maybe he was just trying to be nice but the thought that what he was going to tell her was so bad that he might need to sit down crossed her mind.

"I don't want to sit, I want to know how is my brother" her voice was trembling, other hand her body was motionless and her throat didn't take a single breath until Alaric nodded and sat down on the chair he had offered her the minute before.

"I didn't want you to hold a conversation being on your feet for the whole time but if this is what you want.." Alaric smiled at her again, like he wanted to reassure her or make her feel comfortable but she was too worried about Jeremy. Her eyes were probably showing that clearly because the man opened his mouth to talk before she could ask about his brother once again.

"Your bother is fine. Well, he still has fever and he's quite weak but he's getting better. I'm taking care of him so you don't have to worry" he stopped to see a breath of relief coming out from her lips, her face was now more relaxed and so was her body, especially her feet. She needed that chair now and when she indulged herself on it, the words came out more easily from her mouth.

"What did you tell him when he found a stranger taking care of him in the middle of the night? He was terrified, wasn't he?"

"Actually he wasn't, he wasn't even conscious when I've arrived at your house" he could see the fear growing in her chocolate eyes so the next words rushed out from him, he just wanted to calm her down. "He wasn't in the best condition but thanks to the herbs and a full night of sleep, the day after he was definitely better" he saw Elena relaxing again but the concern in her eyes was still visible. Her hands were shaking and she needed to know anything but the words took a full minute before coming out.

"Just.. just tell me everything, Alaric. Please" she was begging him and she didn't even know why since that was the reason why he sat down and made himself comfortable. To tell her anything she wanted to know.

"If this makes you feel better, when he got up he had enough energies to punch me or at least try to punch me. He didn't, if you were wondering. Anyway he was pretty scared when he didn't see his beloved sister and it took me half an hour to calm him down and force him to listen to me" her eyes were chained to his, her ears were listening to every word and breath coming out from him.

"I told Jeremy that I've found you in the woods, that you were unconscious and I've taken you to my house. I must say that you two are quite alike, he asked me if you were fine the same way you asked me about him. And for the record you have a weird disease with an unpronounceable name I've come up with in that moment and it's contagious, really contagious" Elena's eyes went wide at the thought of Jeremy, not just sick but even worried about her conditions. Her overprotective-sisterly side showed up with a bit more strength that was needed.

"What did you do? Why did you have to tell him such a lie?" Alaric seemed a calm, reasonable person and, considering her life at the moment, the only one willing to be kind to her but at her questions he answered with no kindness at all.

"What should have I told him? That my friend, which is a vampire, was locking you up in a prison, waiting to come up with an idea to get rid of you? I'm pretty sure this would have alarmed him a bit more"

"No, of course not but why a contagious disease?"

"Because it is _contagious _and this means that he can't see you without getting the same disease. I know that it's not my best idea but at least it allows you to stay here without Jeremy getting suspicious about your absence"

"But technically you shouldn't stay with me as well since is _contagious_"

"You two are definitely related" Alaric rolled his eyes at the celling. He probably was remembering Jeremy asking him the same question. "I've told him that I've already got the same illness so I'm immune and able to treat you" Elena didn't say anything because everything seemed unreal. She was living with a vampire that only God knew what he wanted to do to her, her bother thought she was ill and a stranger was taking care of him and her fake disease. She couldn't realize how any of this was real.

"Look, I'm not going to lie to you, Elena" her eyes that had fallen on the floor raised up to look at him. His voice was low and it wasn't probably bringing good news.

"I don't know how all of this will end up but I do know that your bother will be fine. He just needs a couple days, maybe a week to recover. And yes, he is really worried about you but I've insured him that probably your recover will be long but that you'll be fine" his eyes were looking at her but she avoided them.

"You shouldn't have. You shouldn't have told him that I was going to be fine because now he's expecting me to come back home. Maybe not right now but one day he will start asking why I'm not back and you will have to tell him that I'm dead. You should have told him that I'm dead." her voice broke and her eyes started to fill with tears. "I am dead"

"You are not, Elena. You don't know what is going to happen" When she felt a weigh on her shoulders, she raised her eyes to see Alaric's hand. He was trying to comfort her but nothing of that was going to make her feel better.

"I do. Maybe he won't kill me but he won't set me free either. I'm never going home because he has the power to take me here. He can kill me or Jeremy or even the entire population of Mystic Falls if I don't do what he wants me to do. He can get whatever he wants because he is a vampire" the last words were a whisper but her voice was firm because she was telling the truth. He might hate himself for being a monster but it didn't make him less innocent, he had kill people and he wasn't going to stop.

"He wasn't. Just two years ago, he was human" she could see the pain in Alaric's eyes. He was now standing still, looking at the big fireplace in the room. From his expression she could tell that Alaric truly loved Damon, despite what he was. But _who _was him? She didn't know but she wanted to and asking Damon's probably only friend seemed the only way to get something.

"I know, he's mentioned that" when Alaric turned around to face her, his expression was a mask of incredulity, he was shocked and she couldn't imagine why.

"He's told _you?_" she nodded. That was one of the few things she managed to take away from him the day before and the one that had hit her the most. Alaric's question hit her just a bit less, his tone was implying that Damon wasn't the kind of man that open up with strangers and she didn't find that hard to believe.

"You are definitely special, Elena" his face was now covered with a smile that didn't last long.

"He hasn't told me how he turned, though" her gaze was directed to Alaric and was waiting for details that never came.

"Maybe he didn't want you to know" he wasn't just smiling at her, he was saying that none of that was her business but that didn't discourage her. She wanted to know about Damon's story and if he wasn't going to be the one who tells her, Alaric would take his place.

"Do you?" she asked.

"You seem a nice lady, Elena and I do like you but if I tell you something Damon doesn't want you to know, being his only friend won't save me from a painful death"

Elena wasn't sure about the death part but she had no doubts that Damon wouldn't be really happy. She didn't give up anyway.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to put you in danger but Damon doesn't really answer my questions" Alaric let out a noisy laugh.

"Well, Damon is not really a talkative kind of person and most of the time the only words that come out from his mouths are insults or snarky comments" Alaric looked at the girl, there was no sign of a smile. The look into her eyes made him feel bad and he decided that a couple of answers wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Okay maybe I can tell you something but you have to take it for yourself" when she nodded, he opened his mouth again "what do you want to know?"

"Damon told me that he can eat normally as long as he takes enough blood. Where does he take that blood?" Alaric's eyes went wide, she surprised him. He wasn't expecting a question like that from an innocent girl like Elena and, to be honest, neither did her. The question came out instinctively from her lips and after she realized what she'd already asked, she started to wonder from _where _that question was coming. That wasn't her. She wasn't a girl that spontaneously asked how many people had been killed to feed a vampire. She was the kind of girl that was horrified just at the thought of blood but somehow those few days with Damon had changed her. She _wanted _to know, she wanted to know about anything, even the people who got murdered if that would have meant knowing that he wasn't such a terrible monster. Yes, because she wasn't asking to confirm her fears but to exonerate him from his faults, she wanted to know that his victims weren't as many as it could seem. Deep down she wanted to know that Damon wasn't the beast he claimed to be.

"Humans" Alaric didn't add anything else before turning his gaze at her to see her reaction. She was motionless on the chair, her eyes wide open, her lips closed. She was barely breathing. That answer was expected but the sound of it made everything more real. He really had killed human beings. "In the first two weeks after his transformation, Damon killed almost an entire village and some men in the woods. He hadn't been able to control himself, the thirst of blood was too strong and I'm surprised he managed to control it just after a couple of months"

He stopped again to look at Elena, the fear in her eyes led him to picture a different Damon, still a monster but not a killer.

"Things changed when I came back at the castle" Elena knew that for some time Damon had been alone after everyone, or at least the ones still alive, left the castle but he never told her when or why Alaric came back so she decided to ask that directly to Alaric.

"Why did you come back?" Alaric didn't answer at first, his lips just curled in a soft, nostalgic smile and his eyes closed like he was remembering the events to tell Elena. And after a minute of silence he did.

"It might sounds odd but we're each other only friend. I've left because I was scared but then I've realized that so was Damon. He was alone dealing with his new scaring self and I couldn't let him do that by his own, I had to find a way to help him"

"And you did?" there was hope in Elena's voice and she was sure that Alaric's seen the spark in her eyes because he showed her a bright smile before adding a proud 'I did'.

_He did._ Those two words echoed in her mind bringing more hope that she thought would be possible to get .. Elena didn't need to ask Alaric to go ahead with his narration because his moth opened again.

"Helping Damon meant placate his thirst of blood, human blood. My first plan failed, though. One day I came home with a couple of bunnies, I told Damon that those little animals were his lunch but he didn't take that very well. He said something like 'If I have to be a monster, let me be a respectable monster'" Alaric imitated Damon's voice and Elena laughed for the first time after her ARRIVO at the castle. …

"What was the backup plan?"

"I really didn't have one, the only thing that came into my mind was to do some research about vampires. I thought that maybe if I had known the subject better I'd be able to help him. So I've spent days in the Salvatore library, hoping to find something and I did. I found an old, big and dusty book about vampires, it was full of useful information about their abilities. Did you know that vampires are able to compel people?" Alaric waited until Elena shacked her head before keep going with his story-telling. "That was the answer of our problem. Damon didn't want to kill people, he just needed their blood but he had to. Letting them live would have meant let everybody knows about his secret, he didn't want people to know what he was. When the super compelling ability has been discovered, Damon didn't need to kill anybody anymore"

"He doesn't kill anymore?" Elena was surprised and when Alaric nodded, a brief of relief came out from her lips. For the first time she thought that there was still hope for her, that one day she would be able to see Jeremy again and come back home.

"I'm not saying that he's not a murderer, either was his choice or not, he had killed people but his not a monster" Alaric said. It was clear that he meant those words, that he really was thinking that Damon wasn't a beast and in that exact moment she started to believe it too.

"I have another question" Elena suddenly spoke up. Alaric was near the fireplace waiting for the demand. "How this compulsion works?"

Alaric wasn't expecting a question like that but at the same time he was pleased that it wasn't a personal question about his friend.

"It's easy, at least for a vampire" he started "It's about mind control. They look into your eyes, tell you what to do or what to forget and you just do"

"And you don't remember anything?"

"Exactly. You forget everything they compel you to forget and those memories are gone forever"

Elena didn't speak for a full minute, different thoughts were crossing her mind and it wasn't hard to see that she was confused.

Before Alaric could open his mouth to ask her if everything was alright, Elena left the room.

"Where are you going?" Elena turned around to face Alaric. Now he was the one confused.

"I need to talk to Damon"


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: **

Hi folks, I'm back and let me say finally! I haven't update in so long and I'm so sorry. College is in the way, I have no time to write and when I have some I'm too tired to do it. I don't know if I'll be able to update before Christmas because I have to study for my upcoming exams but I'll try my best. Anyway too make up for my absence, this chapter is longer than the others. I don't know if you will like it but I do, mainly because it focuses on Elena and I love Elena Gilbert so I had so much fun writing her character. I really hope you enjoy it and again I'm so, so sorry for the late update.

Have fun and let me know what you think and if there are things you'd like to happen in the story or if you have doubts don't esitate to ask me.

* * *

The cold air touched her skin as she opened the door that was leading to the back courtyard. Elena, that was quickly walking through the whole castle to find the vampire just the second before, suddenly stopped at the view of Damon that was standing still, watching the morning sky with a glass in his right hand. The feeble light was caressing his pale skin and made those blue eyes shine brighter. She wasn't prepared for such beauty but most of all she wasn't expecting to find him so different.

She forgot all of that for a moment, though. She couldn't take her eyes away from him, there was something in Damon that she had never seen before, something under his broken smile. Something human. She was angry at Damon, she was hurt not just because he didn't want her to know who he really was but because he even lied to her. Thinking about it was stupid: she was pretending the truth from a vampire. It should have been the least of her problems but somehow it was her first.

"Enjoying the view?" his voice was deep and cold, like he was just came back from a sad memory.

"Actually I am" Elena said and when her eyes broke away from Damon, she realized how right she was. The rigidity of winter hadn't destroyed the bushes of roses or the trees now leafless. In the garden still echoed the beauty of a time, a time when, probably, Damon and his brother used to play happy in that same garden, unware of how things would have changed in a few years.

"How's Jeremy?" this time she wasn't the one asking the question and that made a soft smile appear on her lips. She had asked that so many times that finally knowing the answer made Elena feel fine. Everything in that precise moment seemed to be okay even if it wasn't.

"He's recovering. Alaric said that my brother will get better soon"

"So he did it. Alaric has cured your brother" it wasn't a question but Damon spoke the last words with such a big amount of incredulity that Elena thought it really was.

"Of course he has. I mean, was that the purpose of you sending him to Jeremy?"

"It was but I wasn't sure about the results. Turned out that Ric can be a very good doctor. I'm proud" a smirk appeared on his face as he turned to face Elena for the first time since she got outside.

She was mad.

"You told me that he knew about medicine!"

"No, I said that he knows about medicine more than you think and it was true" he was still smiling. She hated that smirk, it was irritating.

"Do you think it's funny, Damon? My brother could have died" she said, almost yelling.

"But he didn't, Elena" he fired back. His smirk was gone but she knew that he wasn't still taking it seriously. She wanted to slap him but it didn't look like a good idea in that moment. There were other stuff she wanted to clear up with Damon and even though the fact that he had sent a semi-incompetent to take care of her dying brother was something definitely important, Elena just let it go thinking that everything ended for the best. Jeremy was fine and that was the only thing that mattered.

"You know what Alaric is really good at?" she paused for a moment to look into Damon's eyes.

"I know Alaric for 15 years and the only thing he's good at is pissing me off" He joked but he couldn't deny his curiosity "so please Elena, do tell" From the expression of his face he clearly wasn't expecting what came next.

"He's really good at telling stories, very interesting stories" as Elena spoke, Damon's body stiffened and his blue eyes went wide.

"What did he tell you?" he asked as his body made its way to Elena and grab her arm. Seemed it was becoming an habit but this time he didn't hurt her, his hand was just holding her tiny arm with a little pressure.

"We had a little chat about your feeding. He told me how it works, that you don't kill people to get blood anymore. You feed on them and then you compel them to forget what happened so no one will ever know what you are" Damon relaxed and his hand left Elena's arm. The worry in his eyes disappeared and his lips showed a smile. It wasn't hard to tell that Damon was expecting another story, probably something worse but Elena was interested in this one. She needed answers and she was firmly convinced to get them this time.

"Why are you so mad? Aren't you happy to know that I don't kill innocents?" Damon give her another smile and turned his back on her. "I miss the old times, though. The hunting was so exciting"

"Why did you lie to me?" Damon looked at her chocolate eyes, visibly confused and she cleared her previous sentence right after. "You told me that you wanted to kill me. Why?"

"Because I did" there was ice in his voice and when he moved closer to Elena, she could see the ice in his eyes as well "I wanted to kill you, Elena. I wanted to drink every drop of your blood" a shiver crossed every fiber of her body but she didn't move. She was standing still, motionless as the blue-eyed vampire was telling her that he wanted her dead. Not the best scenario but talking about being killed with Damon had become a daily topic.

"But why? Haven't you just told me that you don't kill people anymore? Why me, Damon?" He stayed silent for a while, just looking at her.

"I had a bad day, Elena and in a bad day I need a lot of blood and alcohol so when the chance to have warm blood showed up, I took it. As you well know your blood was undrinkable and that's the reason why you're still alive and you're annoying me with stupid questions" the answer didn't please Elena, it just told her things she already knew but she would have asked for the details of that bad day later because there was a crucial point that needed to be cleared up.

"This explain why I'm still alive but not why I'm still here" she half-turned her back and pointed at the castle.

"What do you mean, Elena? I haven't had my daily dose of B+ so please make your question easy to understand and let's drop this stupid interrogation"

"Why didn't you let me go when you found out that you couldn't feed on me? You could have compelled me to forget and go home but you didn't. You locked me up in a prison and now you're keeping me in your castle. What do you want from me, Damon?" he was clearly not prepared for this.

They looked at each other for a full minute, either of them not intentioned to look away. It was easy to see Elena's determination to get answers and Damon's determination to deny her them. She could see the burning fire in his blue eyes. Make a beast angry wasn't smart but she wasn't scared, not of him. She wasn't blind, she knew that deep down there was something good in Damon, something that led him to help Jeremy, something that will never allow him to hurt her. And in a moment like that one, where Damon wasn't pleased of her questions and stubbornness, she was perfectly sure to be safe. And she was. But he wasn't just 'not pleased', he was furious.

"We're done here" he said walking past her, drinking the last liquid in the glass still in his hand.

She should have been smart enough to let him go, to let him calm down and go back to the subject the day after or, ever better, never again. But she decided not to be smart, to go after him and show him how strong, determinate and stubborn she was.

"We're not done" she said firmly as her hand reached his arm. He turned to face her, his eyes were telling a lot in that moment but his mouth stayed closed. He was giving her the possibility to talk and she took it without thinking twice about it.

"Why do you slip away from me? Every time you're about to show me something deeper than a snarky comment, you run away. I'm trying to understand you, to know who you are but you don't let me" A bitterly laugh came out from his lips and she stopped talking.

"Why do you even want to know me, Elena? I'm not your type, trust me and my face is the only thing you could ever like about me" he was wrong, she liked his body too but this didn't matter so she shacked her head to send away that thought and get over his stupid sarcasm.

"Are you really asking me why I want to know about your life? I don't know, maybe because you're keeping me here with you and it's quite obvious that you won't set me free soon so I'm just trying to figure you out" all her irritation showed in her voice.

"Then I suggest you to stop because I'm off limits" he glanced at her and his figure started to move to reach the door but it suddenly stopped at the sound of her voice.

"All those walls around your heart will never fall down if you don't let people come close to you" there was a dead silence as he crossed the distance between them once again. Now their faces were close enough to touch, their eyes collided to each other. There was something magnetic between them that wouldn't have allowed them to move even if they wanted to.

"We are close, Elena" he whispered seductively "still.. no wall seems to be falling down" she would have rolled her eyes but Damon's face was too close to focus on something else than his lips. When he finally raised his head and put some distance between their bodies, Elena started to think again.

Sometimes understand Damon was impossible, other times was an easy walk. He had a big trust-issue: the reason why he couldn't let her or anyone else see his true self was because he couldn't trust anyone. He was scared to give trust, scared to be let down. And it wasn't just because of what he was, of the beat inside of him, there was something else, something deeper. She could feel it. She wanted to know what it was, she had this desperate need to know him. There was no rational reason for that, she just wanted it.

"Am I so no worth trusting?" Damon's confusion displayed on his face for a moment just to let a laugh taking its place.

"You're just a young girl, Elena who tries to be the savior of the world but you need to realize that not everything can be saved. Whatever you're trying to do with me, just stop or I will kill you for real this time" she knew he wouldn't but those words hit her anyway. Yes, she was young but she knew more about life than he could ever imagine. She was 16 when her parents died and she had to take care of a 14 years-old boy, she had to grow up and she has.

She wasn't looking at him anymore, her eyes were on the ground and when Damon left her alone in the garden she didn't stop him. She stayed in the cold for a couple of minutes before her body started to shake and her legs leaded her inside.

* * *

"I don't like when Elena is sad" Maggie said with her girly voice, stopping her father's narration.

"I know, sweetheart." He started with a soft smile "No woman should be unhappy but sometimes the bad moments lead us to happier times" his voice was low and Maggie found herself charmed by those words.

"Even if Elena is very sad at the moment, she's going to find something that will make her feel much better and make her realize something very important" he said, watching his daughter's eyes lit up in excitement.

"What is it, daddy?" he smiled before whispering 'a library'. Maggie was confused, very confused. How could a library make Elena feel better after what happened with Damon?

"Didn't I tell you? Elena loves books. When she was a child she used to spend hours and hours reading books and fairytales, picturing herself like a princess without realizing that one day she would have become one" a wild smile appeared on Mag's lips. "Should I continue my story?" he asked like he was approaching a princess.

"No, tell me more about Elena, daddy" Maggie's request surprised and pleased him at the same time. He was happy that his daughter was so interested in Elena, her character has always been underestimate and not just in this fairytale.

He put on a big smile before adding "Elena is a wonderful person: strong, caring, compassionate, with a big heart and always willing to help people." He paused to enjoy the look of admiration on Maggie's pretty face. "She always feels an immense joy when she manages to help somebody. When Damon addressed her like a young girl that wants to save the world he wasn't completely wrong. Elena is not so delusional to think she would be able to save everyone but taking care of her little brother and all the sick people of Mystic Fall is her life, she thinks about that as a duty"

"Like.. it is her job?" Mag asked her father and he nodded in response.

"She kind of think it is. You know, sweetie since Elena has the capacities to cure people she thinks that the right thing is doing as much as she can to help them. And Elena Gilbert always do the right thing or at least what she believe is right" he paused for a moment "But there was something else that Elena really wanted to do when she was younger: taking care of the small library of Mystic Falls. When Elena was little she used to spend a lot of time with Mr. Fell, the keeper. He was a really good man that taught so much to her, increasing her love for that place. Years have passed and Mr. Fell was too old to take care of the library and Elena wanted to take his place and she would have if her parents didn't die leaving her alone with a 14 years-old guy to deal with. After that loss, she started to work for the baker, she makes the best apple pies in town by the way" he winked at his daughter "Her medicines and assistance are frequently requested too so she had no time for the library" his narration stopped and his blue eyes rested on Maggie's sad look.

"That's so sad" she begun "Elena is so young and she's doing so much for all those people that she can't do what she really wants. It's not right, dad" Maggie's eyes started to tire up as his father stroke her cheek with a soft smile on his lips.

"It's not baby but I'm sure you're going to love what comes next" a bright smile found its way to her lips and all her hopes started to display through her eyes. "After her talk with Damon, Elena needed a quiet place to think and being alone. She couldn't go back to her room because that would have been the first place where Damon or even Alaric would look for her. There was no place where to hide but then she remembered that Damon had told her that there was a library on the second floor. That was the perfect place for her"

"A library?" the little girl asked enthusiastic and in response her dad winked again.

* * *

Elena was snooping around the castle for a long time now. She reached the second floor easily, trying her best to be silent and avoid all the places where Damon could have been. That was the first time she saw that part of the castle: Damon had led her around for a tour but not on the second floor. He told her that there was nothing interesting up there 'just a library and a few guest rooms'. Soon enough she found out that the guest rooms where a bit more than just a few. There were at least 10 doors just in that corridor.

The large passage was illuminated by big windows, opened on the front of the castle. Elena approached a window to look outside: the landscape was barren, the winter was coming with its cold and watching in the direction of Mystic Fall she could see that the lake near her village had less green around that it used to have days ago. That view instantly made her think about her home but the thought was too sad and Elena had to leave that sigh.

She started to open every door, hoping to find the library but she found none. Part of those doors were looked, behind others there actually bedrooms and nothing more. When Elena reached the end of the corridor, without finding what she was looking for, she thought about turning around and go into her own room without wasting more time. As she turned, her eyes caught a tiny opening that seemed to lead into another part of the castle. After her body got through it, Elena fund herself in another corridor, a bit different from the previous one: it was a dead end passage, narrower and shorter, lit up by some candles. There were no windows, just two wooden doors. Her eyes jumped from an entry to the other and her mind couldn't help but noticing that there was no dust on them. She had found dust on every door from the other corridor but not on these two. She thought that maybe, unlike the other rooms, these ones were used.

What door to open first?

It didn't make a difference so she approached the nearest door from where she was and she moved the handle: it wasn't locked as she expected.

Her body entered the room and the cold air touched her skin as she made her way into the dark room. Her mind suddenly went to the picture of Damon that had taken her breath away not long before.

She was surrounded by the darkness, the only source of light was coming from behind her but the candles in the corridor were just enough to light up the space near the entrance. She still managed to see some shadows probably belonging to a sofa and some shelves on her right. Looking more carefully, Elena managed to find another low source of light: some windows – probably two – were covered by curtains that prevented the entrance of the morning light.

Elena turned around to grab a candle and see, with a stronger illumination, what she supposed was the library.

When she entered the room again, the place was bigger than what she could see before: there was a big fireplace on the left, surrounded by a couple of armchairs and a red sofa, on the left there was a small bookcase full of dusty books. Elena thought that calling that a library wasn't exactly correct, there were too less books but when she moved forward to take a look at the bottom of the room, she changed her mind. Thousands and thousands of books were filling dozens of bookcases, all of them high enough to reach the celling. She was breathless and enthusiastic.

Elena couldn't believe what was right in front of her, that room holded more books than the Mystic Fall's library. Being careful with the candle, she read some titles just to know what all those book were about. They were about anything: literature, science, novels, Greek and Latin manuscripts and so on. They haven't been used from a very long time because they were all coved by dust. When Elena went back to the fireplace, she noticed that the sofa and the armchairs weren't: those, on the contrary, seemed to be used often. What made Elena think that the room wasn't so unused like she first thought was the firewood ready to be burned.

The room was so cold that, without thinking twice about it, Elena moved the candle closer to the wood and waited until it took fire. After that, she put the candle on a silver candelabrum that was on a small table with one single book: _Gone with the wind_. Her tired body fell on the soft armchair right next to the fire, waiting to warm up. The room was gloomy, cold, silent, the only noise was coming from the crackling of the wood. Elena's thoughts, which had been confused until that moment, started to fall in line. She needed some peace to think rationally and there was nothing that could give her more peace than that library.

Didn't take long before her eyes filled with tears and she let them stream down her face, there was no reason to stop them anyway.

She wasn't crying because of what Damon said, it would take a bit more to actually hurt her feelings and she wasn't scared either. She knew that Damon was incapable of killing her, the reason was unknown, it was more like a feeling but strong enough to let her feel safe in that castle.

But Damon's words had hit her, somehow. He was right: she was just a little girl how was trying to help too many people; some of them didn't even want her help and others just couldn't be helped. She was well aware of that but taking care of people was the only thing she was good at and for how hard it was she couldn't fail because failing meant disappointing her parents.

_Be a good child, Elena._

_How can I be a good child, father?_

_Help the needed, assist the sick. This is a good way to start._

She has been trying ever since. Everything she has done, was done to make her parents proud of her. When they died, she didn't share a single tear with Jeremy, she had to be strong because her brother didn't need to see her pain, he needed to believe that everything was going to be fine. Every single day she has tried to be strong, hiding the pain that was killing her inside, showing her best smile. She had to act strong, for Jeremy and Miranda and Grayson but who has been strong for her?

She was alone. Jeremy, her childhood friends Matt, Tyler and Bonnie, the inhabitants of Mystic Falls, none of them has been able to fill the hole left when her parents passed away. Didn't matter if she loved them deeply, the hole in her chest was deeper.

She was fighting alone, struggling to make the people she loved feel fine, even happy. She was fighting for her brother's happiness but no one was fighting for hers, not even herself.

Her eyes raised to look at the fireplace. The fire was now a bright red, the flames were lighting up the surrounding space and her sight caught something that was left in the dark until now, which was odd because it was very big but Elena was too focused on her thoughts to see the painting on the wall, placed right over the fireplace.

There was a beautiful woman resting on a chair, with a large white dress. Her hair was a golden blond, her eyes probably of a light blue but it was hard to tell in that darkness. There were two children, one on each side. They were smiling happily and so was their mother. The dark haired boy was probably Damon, he was very pretty all well dressed and with a genuine smile on his lips. The other boy was very cute too: his blond hair was framing a pretty face just a few years younger than Damon's. Instinctively Elena thought that he was Prince Stefan but she knew that the Queen died giving birth to the youngest Salvatore. The curiosity vanished when she caught another figure: he was almost hiding in the dark and she just managed to see his dark hair and the lips completely sealed. The King wasn't smiling and the only thing that was bonding him with his family was his right hand, gently placed on the blond woman.

Even if there was no kindness in the man's eyes, they were still a family and she believed that the King and the Queen had loved their children the same way. As the thought came into her mind she realized that Damon was alone, just like her. He had lost his parents too, Stefan was in another kingdom to protect his family from his own brother. Damon just got Alaric, who was his brother as much as Jeremy was hers but it wasn't enough. Like her, he was hiding his pain that was probably consuming his soul because it wasn't just pain, it was guilt. He killed his own father and sent away his own brother. He was alone and he would be for the eternity. Her eyes filled with tears once again looking at the two young blue eyes, full of love and happiness. They were so blue and still so warm, a warmth that has turned into cold ice.

Her eyes were still on the painting when Elena started to have the feeling of not being alone in the room, like there was a presence behind her back. She was about to turn around and take a look when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder. Her lungs stopped catching air immediately, her body stiffened and her eyes widened. Whatever it was, it wasn't just a presence, it was real.


End file.
